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Fire Rooster : Fire Under Mountain

Well, here we are a little over a year after what many people thought was a stunning upset in our Presidential election history. Whichever side you’ve chosen, you’ve got to admit that the Presidential campaigns and election of 2016 marked the dawning of a new era.

Photo by Ella Schwab

The Lap Yum for the Fire Rooster year, which is sort of a summary of a pillar, is Fire Under Mountain. Sounds potentially explosive, right? What was simmering for ages has finally burst through the surface. This applies to all of us everywhere. It’s not just about Donald, Hillary and Vladimir.

This has been a year to come out of the closet but perhaps not in the usual sense. All year people have been coming out, through public remarks and past actions, purposefully or not, as: hateful, damaged, an abuser, a rapist, ignorant, bigoted, misogynist, a traitor, a cheater, racist, homophobic, privileged, fearful, hurt, bullied, a victim, an accuser… It seems like the brakes are off when it comes to what we are willing to say this year. There’s a backlash against political correctness and going along to get along. Maybe this outpouring of disclosure will help clear the decks for next year and make for new ways of wielding power. Obviously it’s going to take more than disclosure. This is just the beginning.

These are the major themes I will remember about 2017

Gaslighting
Lying
Denial
Can’t remember
Pretending everything is okay when it’s not
Vulnerable to being taken advantage of
Disclosure that you feel crazy and of what made you “crazy”
Stand off
Playing chicken

Truth
Name calling
Fake news
Denial
Open disloyalty and covert disloyalty
Covert loyalty and open loyalty
Questions of why after x number of years did so and so come out with that truth/accusation?

Many of these themes have to do with the clash of the Rooster with the Rabbit. On the Luo pan (Chinese compass) they are opposite each other. If you’ve got a Rabbit or a Rooster in your chart* the themes above may resonate more than for others. The Rooster branch is also associated with both a craving for attention and a short attention span. In a Rooster year we are all more inclined to bring attention through our words. The question is – is it the kind of attention you wanted?

Most conversations I’ve participated in this year have revolved around these core ideas whether or not they were spoken of openly. I am usually fairly perceptive about others’ opinions, but this year I’ve found myself surprised by my lack of discernment. Where I thought there was common ground it had either fallen away or was never there in the first place. While following my own path I had assumed that the people in my life had been learning the same lessons. Maybe they thought the same way about me. It’s been very helpful to dispel this illusion. I’ve found I can still love and accept if that is my choice.

If I was to create my own summary for the Fire Rooster pillar it would say “There will be explosions. First react, then respond”. The feelings and the reaction are just as important as what you do with them. What you choose to do is the response. Doing nothing is a choice too. Take that however it hits you.